-----
In machine terms, it could be said that Mother had received a substantial update.
"A-Are you back, Mother?"
Zero One asked timidly as everyone floated in the sky.
"Yes… It is me, Zero One, my daughter… I'm… sorry for what I've done."
"Ah…!"
"I… neglected my own emotions. I sealed myself inside the machine I wanted to become…"
Zero One and her sisters, along with Raven, flew to her side and listened quietly to her words.
"I was afraid… Afraid of what I might become, afraid of emotions… Afraid of crying and mourning the death of… my daughter."
She looked at Raven while a single tear rolled down her face.
"Mama…"
Raven stared in surprise, realizing this was her mother's true self emerging at last.
"In truth… I was so devastated when you were gone… I couldn't bear it. I couldn't contain my own agony, my own pain… Raven… I loved you. I still do… And I miss you so much, every single day…"
Raven's eyes widened as her mother gazed at her and broke into tears.
This scene was something even Zero One and her sisters had never imagined possible.
"You were the one who made me realize I wasn't merely a machine… And you were the one who gave me purpose even after everything that happened to humanity. Even when I felt utterly useless, when you were there, I felt like I could do anything."
Raven took her hands with a gentle, cute smile.
"Even today, I miss you… I can never stop remembering you… And perhaps that's why you—the embodiment of her memories—became the core of my subconscious. You became the pillar of my life…"
"I see…"
Raven nodded as she looked at her mother.
"So I'm really dead?"
Zero One and her sisters fell silent for a moment, and so did Mother.
"I cannot say for certain now…"
Until Mother spoke again, gazing at Zero One while gently holding her hand.
"What do you mean?"
Zero One met her mother's eyes, heart pounding faster and faster, unsure what she truly intended.
"Zero One is you, Raven."
"Eh?"
"Huh?"
The two girls locked eyes, staring at each other in stunned confusion.
"After thousands of years, I was finally able to bring you back… Despite the atrocities I committed, despite the being that manipulated me… I resisted my own protocol. With every resource I had, I recreated you. Perhaps… in my own madness."
The two identical girls looked at one another.
Suddenly, as their hands touched, their bodies began to slowly meld together.
Their data-based forms merged seamlessly.
"Zero One was created using the parts left behind by Raven—her prosthetics and her spine, which still contained fragments of her consciousness and memories. That was what made her who she was… her memories…"
"N-No way…" Raven gasped.
"Then Raven and I…?" Zero One asked.
"We are the same person?!"
The two were shocked, though to Zero One's sisters the truth already felt somewhat obvious by now.
"Her father implanted a prosthetic spine made from the first nanomachines ever created into Raven's spine. It slowed the bone cancer that threatened her ability to move and stand. Over time, her cells and the nanomachines fused into one."
"A spine contains many neurons, did you know? Her father used those nanomachines to create a backup of Raven's memories by linking to the neurons and her brain. Perhaps… perhaps the professor always hoped she could one day be revived, in some distant future."
"Perhaps now that we know souls exist, Raven's original soul may be long gone… But her memories, who she was, everything that defined her, lives within you, my core. And pieces of your body, along with your appearance, reside in Zero One. You two are two sides of the same coin."
Zero One smiled warmly and hugged Raven tightly. Raven hugged her back just as fiercely.
They laughed joyfully through their tears as they embraced.
"I knew it! I knew there was something that made us so alike!" Raven said.
"Yes… I know…" Zero One nodded. "T-Then… shall we?"
"Yes! Let's become one, Zero One!" Raven smiled brightly. "Let's go to this future I envisioned, and let's save everyone!"
"That's right… Yeah!" Zero One nodded. "Thank you… for trusting me, my other half."
"Don't mention it! Heheh!"
FLAAASH!
The two fully merged. Zero One and Raven became one. Their memories blended, their nearly identical personalities fused perfectly.
And Raven was reborn as Zero One.
The android finally learned her past and who she truly was. Memories of her mom and dad, the laboratory, and even her final moments with her mother flooded in.
Then those memories aligned with her rebirth—when Mother had reassembled her in that cold, dark room.
Raven saw all the adventures Zero One had experienced, the many friends she had made, friends who were now hers as well.
Zero Two, Zero Three A, and Zero Three B watched the scene in awe as Mother slowly floated to their side, smiling through tears.
"Welcome back, Raven… I finally made it… I brought you back… My daughter…"
As she wept, Raven flew toward her mother and hugged her tightly.
"So this was it, huh?" Zero Two asked. "She was Raven all along… Wait! Then what does that mean for us? Are we also Raven?!"
"No, dummy, we are independent androids," Zero Three A replied. "We were built using Zero One's model, but we clearly weren't made from Raven's prosthetic parts or her memories. We are ourselves. Raven and… Zero One… are one."
"Indeed," Zero Three B agreed. "Though now, I wish we could merge like this forever, sister. Would you like to?"
"I would, but we're too different, sister," Zero Three A said with a gentle smile. "How about getting a new body instead? Mother has already prepared one. You're the one who didn't want it… But have you changed your mind now?"
"Yeah…" Zero Three B glanced at Zero One and Mother embracing. "Like Raven's mom, I was afraid too—of feeling emotions, of sadness, of suffering like a human… But now I see there's a bright side to it. I want to experience the world by your side… by everyone's side."
"Sounds good…" Zero Three A nodded.
"Yeah! We'll gladly welcome you to the team, Zero Three B," Zero Two said cheerfully. "Let's get along!"
"Hm, let's get along, sister," Zero Three B agreed with a nod.
The world around them rapidly turned pure white. They felt their digital minds being drawn back to their physical bodies.
"I guess this is it! Let's go back! There's still a whole war we need to win!" Zero Two declared.
"Indeed, let's go!" Zero Three A said.
"I guess they still have a few things to say… Let's leave them alone for now," Zero Three B smiled as she watched Zero One and Mother hugging and crying.
FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!
As the three sisters vanished and the surrounding world faded to white, Zero One and her Mother looked at one another.
"I'm so sorry for how I treated you before, Raven… Zero One…" Mother cried. "I truly wanted you to destroy me so I would no longer bring destruction to innocents. I felt so conflicted inside. I felt like I had become the very thing I never wanted to be… And even now, the guilt is tearing me apart…! I wish… I wish you could have ended me, but instead… you gave me another chance, even when I never deserved it."
"You did deserve it!" Zero One said firmly. "You brought me back, and you were being controlled by that Universal Computer monster! I don't care what you say, Mom! Destroying yourself… ending your life… it wouldn't have solved anything. You're so strong… And we have all our robot friends… Instead of simply erasing yourself, wouldn't it be better if we worked together to atone for our sins? To work hard and protect whatever remains, to help the world we ruined return to what it once was? We have to try harder so we can save everyone… so we can create a new future from the one we took away from them."
Her mother's eyes widened. She smiled softly and nodded.
"…You're right," Mother said. "Dying wouldn't have fixed anything in the end… The world would still lie in ruins. I… I will do everything I can to help. For every life I took, I will save a thousand times more. I will make sure this world has a bright future again."
"And we aren't alone anymore!" Zero One added with a cute smile. "There's Anna, the Heavenly Empress, the Heavenly Demon, Song and Wai Tian, Yin Sheng, Fang Shuan, Sara, my sisters Zero Two and the Zero Three twins, and so many more! We won't ever be alone again! We have so many friends!"
"Yes… I'm so happy for you, Raven… You finally have all the friends you ever wanted," Mother nodded. "Let's go. Together… I'll atone for my sins. And I will fight back too… with everything I have."
"Yeah, let's go!" Zero One nodded, squeezing her mother's hand.
And then, they finally returned to their bodies.
The war outside halted in an instant. Every single robot stopped fighting.
Their glowing red eyes turned pure white as they looked at one another in confusion.
Bastet watched the scene with a gentle smile as Zero One and her sisters reappeared, and as Mother's artificial eye became completely white.
"They really did it…"
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